Restoring Smiths Heaters

I used to enjoy rebuilding these things because in their own way, they are like a microcosm of the car itself - a little electrical, a little mechanical and a bunch of detail with a variety of finishes. The most fun was the inital blast through the core to see if she'd blow. Sometimes the brown crap would fly a considerable distance when subjected to 15 lbs of pressure. It's surprising how tough these cores are.

One improvement through the years was the introduction of powdercoating. While it's nice enough on the glossy back bits, the wrinkle finish on the lower case really stands out when powdered as powder's wrinkle texture and durability can't be matched from a spraybomb. Back in the day I used bright Jet-Hot on the aluminum adaptor for the Y-shaped hose pipe. A little bling that is as easily achieved with a bit of Aluma-Blast... 

I only came across one motor that was so severely corroded and worn that it wouldn't freely spin. Most suffered from the ubiquitious 'blade rattle' that required nothing more than a little bending. 

When these are restored properly they can tell a great deal about the extent of a car's restoration. Easily seen by probing eyes and usually not fully addressed by casual restorers, heater motors can be an enjoyable start to a great restoration. 

Good article Frank, thanks, nice job and well done too. I finally have some time to catch up here with many posts I have not yet had the time to read. I am off this week and have a little spare time to unwind and do the stuff I set aside for exactly these easy going days. Besides, it raining here outside of Philly, so it makes it all that much nicer to sit back and read this good stuff. Thank you! -de